EKBIS.CO, JAKARTA -- The Ministry of Commerce (Ministry of Commerce) said that Indonesian durian commodities are in high demand in China with total demand projected to reach 8 billion US dollars by 2024.

Director General of National Export Development of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Didi Sumedi said that every year the demand for durian to China continues to increase. In 2022, the demand for durian in China reached 2 billion US dollars and in 2023 increased to 6 billion US dollars.

“This is a pretty big demand to fill and even China's demand could reach $8 billion, durian alone. So it's unbelievable the magnitude of it,” Didi said in Jakarta, last week.

Didi said that durian is one of the leading commodities for fruit products. According to Didi, the opportunity could be exploited by plantation farmers to improve the quality of durian.

In recent years, plantation farmers have also begun actively growing various types of durian ranging from montong to king ferrets.

In China itself, the most sought-after type of durian is the montong type. At present the Ministry of Home Affairs together with the relevant ministries began to develop local montong.

“We are developing in various local montong areas yes, kayaking in Central Java, there is Bawor, a combination of montong mating with local durian,” Didi said.

Nevertheless, Didi says that durian is not yet the highest-earning fruit commodity.

Indonesia is said to still have other exotic fruit commodities that are also in demand by foreign markets such as pineapple, banana, avocado and mangosteen. In addition to China, fruits of Indonesian origin are also in demand by countries such as Japan, Australia and other Asian regions.